“There is nothing that strengthens the ego more than being right. Being right is identification with a mental position – a perspective, an opinion, a judgment, a story. For you to be right, of course, you need someone else to be wrong, and so the ego loves to make wrong in order to be right.”
— Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
I have read somewhere? about a shift in perspective. You stop worrying that karma will come to fruition and hurt you. Because karma will come to fruition eventually. And the shift is to worrying about stopping creating new bad karma, rather than worrying about past karma coming to fruition.
@Jeroen said:
@Jason said:
@Jeroen said:
@Jason said:
seeing a psychiatristThe neurodivergent movement seems to be having a bit of a moment, that is for sure. But my experience with psychiatrists is that they are generally more interested in prescribing you pills than in genuine mental health. Music and Buddhism have done me more good in recent years than anything else.
Glad to hear it. In my case, music and Buddhism weren’t quite enough 🤷♂️
I found an investigation into my views and their origins to be helpful. Generally the stronger the opinions that you hold, the more difficult it is to live as kindness, softness, mellowness. Living with one’s being in that space means being more forgiving, holding fewer grudges, and acts as a general protective measure against much mental ill health.
Hence I practice metta even for bodhi Trump.
I think it all depends on what the opinions are as opposed to how strong one holds to them. I know the general attitude of Buddhism is to relinquish views, but some views are skillful and useful and shouldn’t be abandoned before they’re no longer useful.
Holding strong opinions on the efficacy of the principles of Buddhism (especially the precepts, teachings on interdependence, and the four brahmaviharas) has helped to make me a kinder, more compassionate, and easy to talk to person. The same goes for my political opinions. That’s why I’m able to room and treat a patient no matter who they are or what they believe, and every one feels comfortable enough to share their thoughts with me. I’ve had people go off about vaccines being a scam and how I should vote for Trump because he’ll make things good again and others who’d say the opposite. They all feel comfortable enough to share these things with me, and I treat them all the same because I care about them as people.
My own suffering partially stems from childhood trauma and some neurodivergent issues, but the majority of it stems from systemic issues and the external pressures they exert upon my life, not so much my opinions. And while Buddhism has helped me greatly over the years, there are some things that it hasn’t and I’m open to exploring other tools to help. And for mental health issues, I’ve found that finding the right therapist can go a long way towards helping one heal and overcome things that prevent them from moving forward.
@Jason said:
@Ren_in_black said:
If so, is this written somewhere, or is it something that's been sort of understood through the logic of the teachings?This particular idea is not found in Pali Canon and is associated more with the Jain’s view or karma, e.g., see MN 101 and MN 136 and Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s study guide on the topic.
As far as past actions, there are teachings that present skillful actions can help mitigate the results of previous unskillful actions but cannot fully eliminate them (SN 42.8). In other words, there are some consequences that may arise even if one does a lot to counteract them. And awakening changes the logic, although one can still experience the effects of past actions, but their relationship to them will be different and the creation of new karmic results is no longer an issue. St. Maximus explains it well, I think, in Opuscula theologica et polemica (albeit from a Christian perspective), when he writes, “A perfect nature has no need of choice [i.e., intentional actions or karma], for it knows naturally what is good. Its freedom is based on this knowledge." And the noble eightfold path is what can help us get there (SN 35.145).
@Ren_in_black said:
@Jeffrey said:
Or can anyone do what Buddha has done?Jeffrey I think you've hit the actual core of my question.
And if the answer is no, then what are we even doing here?
How do you explain the value of selflessness to the selfish?
or life's potential freedoms to the habitually enslaved,
or sufferings cessation to the cravings we love?
@Ren_in_black said:
If so, is this written somewhere, or is it something that's been sort of understood through the logic of the teachings?
This particular idea is not found in Pali Canon and is associated more with the Jain’s view or karma, e.g., see MN 101 and MN 136 and Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s study guide on the topic.
In the time before the Buddha's enlightenment, perhaps lifetimes, did the man Shakyamuni have karmic debt? If you say yes which seems reasonable to me then how did Buddha overcome that debt? I don't know the answer, but did the Buddha have a different potential than everyone else to become a Buddha? Or can anyone do what Buddha has done? Did the man Shakyamuni have a smaller debt or a greater power to overcome? Or do we have the same potential?